How the Light Gets In
by SirLadySketch
Summary: A chance encounter at Ven's hospital bed leads to the start of a friendship between Axel and Ven's little brother, Roxas. Together, they try to uncover what's really hiding in the shadows of the Keyblade Knights Academy. Modern AU crime/mystery fic, AkuRoku centric. (Sorry guys, I can't take FF's formatting, read the story on AO3!)
1. Chapter 1

There were times when not getting around to investing in a tv or newspaper really bit him in the ass.

It was less a matter of money and more a "why bother buying something I probably won't use?" kind of thing, but Axel did have to admit that he felt a little more disconnected from the world since his old unit finally gave up the ghost six months ago. He hadn't really _missed_ it, per se—he had his podcasts and music to keep him going during work and downtime—but he definitely tuned into stations and sites that tended to tune out the rest of the world.

Oh, he could wax poetic if you needed to know about the latest trends in visual tech or new discoveries in the art world, and he knew the intimate (oh god, in some cases far _too_ intimate) details and updates of his regular clients and friends. But the world at large? Not so much.

So really, could he be blamed for not knowing about the accident until three months after the fact?

…well, yes, probably, but he'd be damned if he was going to admit it.

From the start, he'd known the day was gonna be a shitshow when Marley decided to schedule a special session during Axel's regular hours. Not that Axel disliked the man; Marluxia did good work, paid on time, and asked very little from his employees other than they kept their spaces clean and showed up more or less on time. But Axel worked best to music, preferably something upbeat and peppy and _loud_ , something that sounded good with the drone of a tattoo gun. Marley like classical shit that disappeared into the background at the best of times, or burst into a sudden crescendo of strings and drums in a matter of seconds, which could interrupt the flow of Axel's concentration, or startle him while working.

Today, there was opera.

Axel had to lift the gun away from his customer's shoulder to avoid slipping when the male baritone on the radio hit a particularly long and quavering note. The man in his chair also winced, although Axel had a suspicion that it had more to do with the man's aversion to needles than it did to the music. He sighed, pressing on once the singer's voice dipped to a level that sank below the drone of the machine. Fortunately, he was almost done, just a minute or two more and then he could clean up and clock out. And really, it could be worse—Marley could be singing along.

Ten minutes later, his customer was out the door and Axel had the last of his bottles back on the shelf, the machine cleaned and packed up, and the lights in his "studio" off. He scooped up his sketchbook and keys and headed for Marley's room to verbally sign off for the night.

The private room in the back was reserved for private sitting that usually involved inks and piercings in places of an "intimate" nature. However, whether it was because he liked the privacy or because he tended to do larger, more expansive designs than either Axel or Larxene, more often than not, Marluxia took his clients to the back room, away from the cheaper, more common customers. Axel suspected it also had something to do with Marley's "My store, my choice" attitude when it came to sharing the prime real estate.

Sure enough, Axel found him in the room, his "canvas" laid out on the padded table, the design already beginning to take shape. He resisted a sigh. Another cherry blossom motif. Lovely enough, but he'd have gone crazy having to do the same sort of design over and over again. There were only so many ways to draw a tree with pretty pink petals, after all. He blamed Marley's absurd collection of shoujo anime.

Marluxia didn't even bother looking up as Axel stood in the doorway, waiting for a break in the opera singer's mournful bellows. The canvas, however, turned and smiled at him, giving him a drowsy wave from her position on the bed.

"Hey Axel, been a while," she said. He nodded and leaned against the door, crossing his arms.

"Hey Bradford. Another branch on the family tree?" he asked, seeing the outline of yet another branch unfolding.

"You know Edgar," she giggled. "And you know how Edgar and I love our kids. It's a puppy this time, though." Marluxia pulled back from the outline he'd been inking and sighed, looking up at last. Instead of chiding his client for moving, however, he turned his irritation on Axel.

"Did you need something? We still have a lot to get done today."

"Just wanted to stop in before I left for the day, see if you needed anything else," he said, trying not to sound too willing to actually follow up on it. Marley probably caught the insincerity of the offer but relaxed all the same, shifting back into position over Terra's back.

"No, we should be fine, go ahead and take off. I'll see you in the morning."

"Axel!" called out Terra as he turned to go. "Can you turn up the radio on your way out? I want to catch the news."

He nodded, walking across the room to excavated the old radio from under the various sketches Marley had draped on top of it, no doubt looking for inspiration as he added yet another branch to the Figaro family tree. The opera singer had fallen blissfully silent, and a calm British voice droned on about what was happening in the world. The woman's voice jumped as he cranked the volume a little louder than necessary- thank god he'd be long gone before the opera started up again.

"- and investigators are officially reopening the area. Ventus Lux, the investigator injured in the attack, is still in the hospital in stable, but critical condition. Academy Superintendent Xemnas says that the attack was the result of an unauthorized investigation, although they continue to follow up leads into the events that happened. Anyone with any information about the incident should contact the hotline number listed on our website. In other news, Ansem attire stock is up 50% after an incident at the playboy's private beach property this past weekend. Reporters are saying that…."

Axel froze in the doorway, the woman's voice echoing in the back of his mind. _Ventus Lux_. It had to be a coincidence, right? Axel turned to Marley and Terra, ignoring the latest escapades of the fashion designer and trying to remember if he'd heard anything about an accident, or hearing the name Ventus anytime recently.

"What incident are they talking about?" he asked, pulling up his phone even as he said it. _Ventus Lux Accident_. He hit search then waited for the results to load, tapping his foot as he watched the results begin to slowly emerge on the screen.

"Have you been living under a rock?" Marley asked, pulling away from the design once again. Even Terra looked concerned.

"It was all over the news three months ago," she said, propping herself up to make it easier to talk. "There was an explosion, two officers went missing, and an off duty officer got caught up in the mess. It was on the north side of town, near the docks and shipping district. They closed down the area for _weeks_ ," she said as though she expected it to ring a bell.

He shook his head, looking down at his phone again to see if he could find an article that had loaded yet. All he needed was a picture, something to show him that it wasn't his Ven. For god's sake, the guy had left town over ten years ago, heading off to the islands to live with his extended family. It could theoretically be him, of course, but if he'd moved back into the area, wouldn't he have tried to contact his old school buddies again-

The article's image loaded, and Axel swore.

"Axel?" Terra asked, clearly not expecting that kind of reaction. Axel held up his phone.

"I know him," he said, flashing her the picture of someone he hadn't seen since he was 16, but would recognize anywhere. "I've gotta go, see what else I've missed these past six months."

"I still don't get the sudden interest," Demyx said, sipping his soda as they sat in the hospital cafeteria. He'd put on a gummi-ship set of scrubs today, which would've been more appropriate if he worked in the children's ward. Given that most of his patients were in comas or in highly drugged states, however, Axel supposed they wouldn't care that much. He shrugged, stealing a handful of fries and popping them into his mouth.

"We went to school together, man. He was like my best friend," he replied around a mouth full of food. Demyx growled, pulling his lunch farther out of Axel's reach.

"Ok, first off, I thought _I_ was your best friend in school-"

"Yeah, but this was before I met you!"

"And secondly, I told you about him when he first came in," Demyx continued over him, taking a bite of his burger. "I tod you he waf in my ward and I waf in charf a hif safey." Demyx swallowed, then continued. "I told you about the guards and stuff, and the police protection. Don't you remember me telling you about how I had to get cleared to check in on this guy? How I was interviewed on the news? How I had to get a special badge to get access to the room, and how I got a red phone to call the academy if there were any changes?"

Axel held up a hand. "So, ok, that sounds sort of familiar, but dude, in my defense, you know that you just start rambling when you come off a long shift, I thought you were making shit up again."

Demyx glared at him, although some of the edge was lost as he noisily slurped his soda down. "How about the fact that I worked overtime for like 3 weeks and never showed up at the apartment during that time? Do you remember that? Ringing any bells?"

"Again, in my defense, you do that a lot. It's one of the reasons you're the best roommate ever," Axel grinned. "And besides, I was kinda hoping that meant you'd gotten lucky or something."

"Look, I don't know what bee you've got buzzing around in your bonnet, but I can't get you in to see him," Demyx said, ignoring Axel altogether and taking another long slurp of soda before cramming more burger into his mouth.

"Can't, or won't?" Axel asked.

"The guy is in a coma!" Demyx protested, then shrank into his seat and whispered when he realized he'd been shouting. "Besides, even if he was awake, there are guards stationed outside of his room. You couldn't get in there for more than a few minutes before they caught you, and then we'd both be in hot water."

"A few minutes is all I need," Axel said, feeling his way through this. He ran fingers through his hair, sighing. "I know it's stupid and reckless and it probably won't make a difference to him, but I feel like I owe him an apology for, I dunno, not realizing he was in such bad shape 'til now."

Demyx stared, chewing on his fry and leveling a steady, thoughtful expression at him.

"If we do this… it would need to be now, rather than later when the shift changes. I've gotten to know Laexus pretty well these past couple of months," he said at last. "Not friendly enough to get you in, but, I think I know a way you might be able to steal a few minutes. But it's only a few minutes, then you're in and out. And you've gotta promise me that you're not gonna do anything stupid."

Axel grinned. "Since when have _I_ done anything stupid?"

"Dude, you _owe_ me," Demyx hissed, peeking around the corner at the large police officer stationed outside of the room. The man seemed to be reading a book, looking up only briefly when someone walked by, or when there was a slight change in the quiet hum of this ward.

Demyx leaned back in and gave a quick nod. "Ok, so, I'm gonna go over there and start talking to him. You wait about 3 minutes then text that number I gave you. That'll set off the phone in the nurses' station and I'll be able to pull him over when I can pretend that you're asking about when the shift will change and then you're in. I'll text you when you're in the clear again to leave, got it?"

Axel nodded, and Demyx leaned against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut, drawing in a deep breath. He let it out, slowly, then opened his eyes to lock onto Axel. He gave a curt nod, a swift salute, then took off around the corner at a rapid clip.

Axel stayed where he was, straining to hear what Demyx would say to lure the officer away from the door. Ten seconds later, there was a crash and a high-pitched yelp from Demyx. Axel did sneak a quick peek to find that Demyx was sitting on his ass amid a pool of jello and broth, directly in front of the guard. The tall man looked none too happy—orange jello slid down the officer's face and the front of his shirt.

Demyx tried to stand up amidst apologies, but the slick floor kept him slipping as he tried to stand up, and had the man Laexus not been built like a tank, there was no doubt in Axel's mind that the officer would've gone down, too. As it was, he reached out, trying to catch Demyx before he fell again. Axel bit back a laugh. Only Demyx could come up with a master plan involving strategic arguments and important phone calls and other assorted secret signals to immediately botch the plan and fall on his ass.

Granted, it did the trick. The officer stood, trying to brush off the worst of the mess from his shirt, and cursed as he tried to step away from the sticky globs. Demyx made it to his feet at last, and hurried over to the nurse's station to grab a roll of paper towels and a bottle of water, turning to hand both to Laexus. Unfortunately, the movement was too fast, the bottle already half open, and Demyx ended up splashing the looming officer across the face. Laexus was not pleased.

As Demyx tried to pull off sheet after sheet of paper towels, Axel slipped behind them, quietly pulling the room door open, then shutting it behind him with a soft click. The loud apologies from Demyx and the low grumbles from the officer immediately muted with the door solidly in place, and for a moment, Axel paused, taking it all in.

Beeping. Beeping and the hiss of oxygen, and a low hum of machines blanketed the room in a quiet, constant drone. The window curtains were closed, although the light-blocking shades were up, so the room glowed in a pale, muted white light. He could smell disinfectant, and fresh linens, and somewhere, the faint aroma of flowers. It wasn't a particularly large room, and the second bed was unoccupied, no doubt because no one else had clearance to make it into a guarded room.

Still, it felt cozy in a way that surprised him. There was a blanket draped over one of the chairs, clearly homemade. A desk pushed up against the far wall had the look of someone who'd given up in the middle of a particularly difficult homework problem, covered in what looked like books and notes and binders. A collection of unopened drinks stood in a row along the edge of the small bedside table, and there was, in fact, a bouquet of flowers. There was even a pair of fuzzy slippers beside the bed, like someone had gone to a lot of trouble to make it feel less like a hospital ward.

But the illusion fell away as Axel made his way closer to the bed and got a good look at a face he hadn't seen in almost ten years.

Ven looked _terrible_.

Of course, he'd been in an accident where there'd been an explosion of some sort, and while it was good to see that the burns that Demyx had mentioned really were healing pretty well, Ven was too pale to be considered healthy. Breathing tubes explained the hiss of oxygen, and it looked like he was hooked up to a couple different drip stands and monitors. No doubt Demyx could explain things if Axel asked, but he really didn't want to know.

He walked over to the edge of the bed and slumped into the visitor's chair.

"Gotta admit, I'd hoped that I'd get to see you again, but this was definitely _not_ what I had in mind." Ven didn't respond of course, but Axel blew out a shaky breath and laughed, running fingers through his hair. "I'm gonna be completely honest here, man: you look terrible."

"Who the fuck are you, and how did you get in here?"

Ven's voice cut through the low hum of machines, and Axel jerked out of the seat and away from the bed, nearly tripping on the drip stand and visitor's chair. Now that he was no longer sitting in the chair, Axel could see yellowy bands of light spilling in from the hallway, and noticed the sudden rise in noise as people bustled about on important errands. Demyx had warned him it might be a quick visit, but he'd been adamant that no doctors would be in for an hour at least.

Axel turned to face the guy who'd caught him snooping in on his old classmate, then froze, excuse dying on his lips.

Ven was standing _right there_.

Axel's mouth snapped shut, and he turned to look on the bed, heart racing. No, Ven was in bed, swathed in a mass of tubes and pipes and bandages. And yet, he also stood in the doorway, that familiar, fiery scowl, voice tense and blue eyes bright with fury. The kid clutched a takeaway bag with white-knuckled fingers, his other hand still on the doorknob. Axel allowed himself another glimpse at the bed before focusing on the vision in the doorway. _What the hell?_

"I said, just who the hell are you?" the boy with Ven's voice repeated, stepping into the room.

Now that he thought about it, Axel could see that the Ven in the bed looked a little older than the one standing in the doorway, the hair a little longer, his build slightly heavier, more muscled than when he'd been the scrawny kid in high school. Of course, Axel himself had gone through some shit, gotten taller and more wiry, more comfortable in his own skin. The Ven in the doorway was still stuck in that awkward stage of young adulthood where there's still some residual baby fat to soften your looks before Life started kicking you while you were down.

Thinking back, he could vaguely remember Ven being tailed around by a younger sibling—no, weren't there two of them? There was a shy, dark haired girl, never said a peep and was sort of sickly, if he remembered correctly. She just looked up at you with those big blue eyes, the only trait she really seemed to share with Ventus. Not like Ven's little brother, the one who looked like a mini-me and tagged along after them wherever they went and whatever they did, copying everything to the point where he'd earned the nickname—

"Repeat!" Axel laughed, and he could feel the warmth of blood returning to his face. He collapsed back into the chair beside the bed, expelling a shaky laugh. "Shit, I thought you were a ghost for a minute there. You're the spitting image of—"

"How did you get in here? How did you get past the guards? Why the hell are you here?"

"Geeze, kid, take it easy. I know one of the people on staff here, the three of us went to school together. I just wanted to check in on Ven, I feel terrible that I only just found out," he replied, keeping his voice calm. No way in hell he'd throw Demyx under the bus, but the kid had a valid point. Hadn't Dem mentioned something about Ven's family saying it hadn't been an accident? Kid probably had reason to be paranoid about strangers in his big brother's room. He raised his hands in surrender, trying to show the kid he didn't have anything in his hands.

"Look, Repea—"

"Roxas," the kid interrupted, closing the door at last, now that he'd determined that Axel wasn't a threat. He dropped the bag of takeout onto the desk and what must have actually been his homework, then he crossed his arms, still frowning. Axel scrambled to his feet, realizing he was probably sitting in the kid's—Roxas'—chair.

"Roxas, right. Look, I didn't mean to come and make a fuss, I just had to come see him. When I heard what happened, found out he was here…" he trailed off, looking back at the quiet form on the bed, the wheezing machines a dull backdrop to their conversation. He sighed, watching the slow rise and fall of Ven's chest. "We were best friends, you know?"

"I remember you now," Roxas admitted, and his frown softened as he tilted his head and rubbed his chin. "You were that photographer guy who came over sometimes."

"Heh, photography was a long time ago, haven't touched it since school." Axel smiled, feeling the room being to brighten and warm. "Impressed you remember that, though."

"I didn't bother learning all the people Ven hung out with here before we left," grumbled Roxas. "You made an impression, I guess."

"Haha, well, I'm flattered then." Axel moved away from the bed, giving up the chair for Roxas. "Glad to know I was memorable."

"Not memorable enough to remember your name," admitted Roxas, and the kid had the decency to look a little embarrassed about that. Axel laughed, though, and patted through his pockets, digging out his wallet and pulling out a card.

"Axel," he said, offering it to the kid. Roxas stared at it, then looked up to meet his eyes. Axel winked. "Keep it, then you don't have to worry about memorizing it." He nodded to the card as Roxas gingerly reached out to take it. "You need anything, you just give me a call."

Roxas stiffened, and the room took on a distinctive chill again. "What could you possibly offer that I would want?"

Axel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I dunno, lunch, transportation, blackmail stories about your brother in high school? Jesus, kid, it's called offering an olive branch and being friendly."

Roxas stood stiffly for a few moments, then sighed, shoulders slumped. He dragged a hand across his face.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "it's been a long couple of weeks." He ran fingers through his hair and the short strands stuck up like bed-head. Axel suppressed a smile, since it really wasn't the time or place to be making dirty jokes to his old best friend's little brother.

"Look, I know you don't know me from the bum in the alleyway, but Ven and I were close, and it kills me that it took me this long to find out he was hurt. You think of anything I can do to help—anything—" he looked back at Ven on the bed, then caught Roxas' eye once more. "You just give that number a call, ok?"

Roxas didn't reply, but he nodded, tucking the card into a shirt pocket. Axel sighed, scratching the back of his head. He hadn't really gotten to talk to Ven at all- not that he really had all that much to say- but staying was now clearly out of the question. He made his way towards the door again, turning before he left. "Right, well… I should get going. It was good to see you again, kid. I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah, I guess," was the less than enthusiastic response. Roxas watched him the entire way back to the door, no doubt trying to figure out what Axel's game was. Axel didn't hold it against him. For all the puffed up posturing, the kid looked tired, strung out, and beaten. Hell, if he didn't know there was takeout on the table, he would've called for a pizza and left it there as a peace offering. Maybe he could still order a pizza and have it delivered later, when Demyx let him know the kid would be there.

Turning away from Repeat- _Roxas_ -, he opened the door a fraction to see if the guard was still there. Demyx was standing off to the side, face beet red and gummi-ship scrubs changed out for a pair covered in hearts. The guard was glaring at him, but he was looking away, and Axel seized the opportunity to slip out and into the hallway.

He headed away from the ward at a steady, purposeful clip, nodding to people are he passed, exchanging greetings with a few of the nurses he recognized from Demyx's gang. He headed out the doors and back towards his apartment, shoving his hands in his pockets and drawing in a deep breath as he ran through the scene in his head once again.

Well, that had been… less that successful, but he wasn't about to call it a complete loss. He'd seen Ven, gotten to start talking to him, and had been abruptly reminded that Ven had family that probably relied on him, and they were probably going through a tough time. Repeat looked a little worse for wear to say the least. He would definitely be sending that pizza around. Apology pizza. Apolo-pizza?

He stopped, a thought popping back into focus, and he made an abrupt turn down the street. First things first; He was going to go out and buy a god-damned TV.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey guys! The full (Explicit) version of this fic is up on AO3: /works/11437335/chapters/25629888

I'll be posting more of the current chapters on here each Friday until we're caught up to where I currently am on AO3.

I also have a companion fic of short stories that fully flesh out the characters and other scenes called "There is a Crack In Everything", which you can read here:

/works/12300699/chapters/27962508

I hope you guys enjoy it! Please feel free to drop me a line on my Tumblr, I'm SirLadySketch there, too!


	2. Chapter 2

When the next day came and went and there'd been no word from anyone official or otherwise, Axel let out a long mental sigh of relief. Apparently, not only had Demyx's ploy to distract the guards worked, the kid- Roxas- hadn't ratted him out to the cops for technically trespassing on what was probably considered an inactive crime scene or something. He wasn't going as far as to believe that he'd been forgiven for the intrusion, per se, but Roxas had apparently remembered him well enough to come to the conclusion that yes, Axel really had been telling the truth about just wanting to talk to Ven, and no, he'd never hurt his best friend from the old days.

However, after a few days had passed and there still had been no word, he started to worry that maybe he should've sent that pizza after all. Not because he'd expected Roxas to call him back, eager to reminisce and catch up on all that had been going on, but… well, he'd have thought there'd have been some sort of communication. And Demyx was working long shifts with overtime at weird hours again, which meant he couldn't find out if Roxas had been asking about him. Not that it mattered, not really, but he hated to think that he'd weirded out a kid who was clearly going through some shit right now and who didn't really need a ghost from the past popping up on the horizon.

Pizza it was. Pizza was universal, right? It was the perfect vessel to hold all good wishes and smooth out potential awkwardness between them. No one got upset about pizza. Axel decided that if he hadn't heard anything after a week or so, that would be just the right amount of time to send his gift. Something to imply "I've been thinking about you since we met, not in a weird, stalkery-kind of way, but more of a ' _we got off on the wrong foot and I'm sorry about that_ ' kind of way, so please accept this food as a token of my regret over any hard feelings that may or may not have come from me illegally sneaking into your brother's hospital room."

He sent the peace offering a week to the day and time they'd met, figuring that a student's schedule couldn't change that much from week to week. He set up a delivery, told them where to send it, and asked them to include the message: "Thanks for not calling the fuzz, see you later. ~A"

He felt a great burden lift from his shoulders as he ended that call. Pizza gave them an even playing field; if the kid wanted to talk, he had Axel's number. Otherwise, they could both go back to their lives, feeling none the worse about never speaking to each other again, knowing that there was no bad blood between them. If and when there was a development in Ven's condition, Demyx would be sure to tell him, and things would go on as normal.

To be completely honest, he never thought he'd hear from Roxas again, so of course that was when he got the call.

He'd been dreaming about books, probably, or maybe it was birds. Something flappy, brittle, and whispery, floating around him, making strange fluttering noises that sounded like dead leaves scattered by a brisk winter wind. Things that looked like shadows, but white, insubstantial, and flitting. And underneath all the whispering scratches and crackling shuffles, a tinny rumble, mechanical, droning, deafening the sound of the… whatever… floating around in him the dream. The rumble was persistent, and grew more insistent, and it had a musical lilt to it, almost like it was….was that…. Barbie Girl?

Axel opened his eyes just wide enough to grope among his covers to hunt down his phone. His fingers brushed against his sketchpad- apparently he'd been more tired than he thought, falling asleep while he worked- and after a few more seconds pinpointing the rumble, his fingers closed around the still ringing phone.

He tried to focus on the time, but "4:30" could be so ambiguous. Was it am or pm? It was hard to tell when the shades were down. You could argue that no one in their right mind would call him at 4:30 am, of course, but then, he'd assigned "Barbie Girl" as a specific ringtone for Demyx, and given his roommate's odd hours and tendency to not remember to bring his keys, 4:30 am was not out of the realm of possibilities. He swiped a finger across the screen to accept the call, blissfully silencing the obnoxious song, and then he sank back into the bed.

"What?" he asked, maybe a little curt, but Demyx had either interrupted a nap or his regular sleep schedule, so either way he was at fault. When Demyx didn't reply, however, he cracked open an eye again to make sure that he hadn't accidentally turned off the phone instead. Ticking numbers indicated that no, he was still connected to the caller on the other end of the line. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying again. "Demyx, I swear to god, if you're calling again to ask me if I've fed Bubbles I am going to revoke your visitation rights and you'll never see him again."

"...Uhh, hi. This is Roxas. Roxas Lux. We met at, uhm, we met last week," came the definitely-not-Demyx voice on the other end of line. Axel shifted and the sketches fluttering off the bed and onto the floor as he sat up. Roxas' voice, quiet and hesitant, continued, "Did I call at a bad time?"

"What? No! No, sorry, I thought you were… I mean with the ringtone I assumed, ah- no. Sorry. I remember. Sorry," Axel half-yawned, half-mumbled, trying to scrub away the sleep from his eyes.

"Were you _asleep_?" The kid's voice wasn't accusatory, not exactly, but the incredulous tone implied that apparently the kid took offense at people taking naps in the middle of the afternoon. Axel frowned, sitting up a little straighter and bracing himself against the lecture, even if the kid couldn't see it.

"It's my day off," he replied, trying to grab the papers he could and stack them into some semblance of order. They eluded his grasp and more sheets slithered to the floor. "And besides, you're a student, right? Shouldn't _you_ be taking a nap in the middle of the afternoon?"

"I study in the afternoon," came the short reply, and Axel sighed, heaving himself out of bed. Sleeping the rest of the afternoon wouldn't have been productive anyway, there were probably other things he should be doing. But then, it sounded like the kid had things he should be doing, too. "I work while I sit with Ven."

"Oh," was all he came up with by means of reply. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes, then they both started at once.

"Look, I'm sorry about the whole-"

"I didn't want to impose-"

"Ah, sorry, go ahead," Axel said, putting the kid on speaker and setting the phone down to properly gather his sketches. Apparently in the time between when he'd sat down to draw and he'd fallen asleep, he'd finished a grand total of…. He squinted at the pages. Three designs. Perfect. There were some squiggles on there, too, so maybe he could work with those.

"Um, look. We got off on the wrong start," Roxas said after he realized Axel wasn't going to continue. "And I'm sorry for being snippy about you being there." There was a slight pause. "I mean, you weren't _supposed_ to be there in the first place, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I get why you did it, and I appreciate the gesture. Sorry I was so upset."

"Oh," Axel said again, tucking the blank pages back into his folio. "Um, yeah, I dunno what I was thinking, I guess I wasn't. You had a right to be angry. I… read more about what happened. I would've freaked out, too, if I came in and found a tall, dark, and handsome stranger looming over my loved one's hospital bed."

"Yeah, well… No harm done, I guess," Roxas said, not rising to the bait. "But next time I would just talk to Laexus and clear it- supervised visits are ok."

"Yeah, good call-wait, next time?" Axel asked, dropping the folio onto his desk and then making his way back to flop onto the bed once again.

"I mean, you said that you wanted to, uhm. I mean, your note said that, uh," the kid broke off, clearly trying to gather his thoughts. "I sort of thought that you wanted to come visit again," was the mumbled response. Despite the less than enthusiastic tone of the kid's admission, Axel grinned. Pizza peace offering had worked its magic once again.

"Yeah- I mean, I don't wanna get anyone in trouble," he said, already trying to plot out the logistics of schedules and hospital visiting hours, "But if there's a way to get me in without dumping jello and broth all over the place, that'd be ideal."

That earned him a light laugh. "I talked it over with the officers on duty and they said so long as I vouched for you and we kept the door open you could visit. So if you wanna come, just let me know and we can figure something out." There was a slight hitch in his voice, a quick intake of breath before he continued.

"He doesn't get a lot of visitors. And.. and Doctor Gainsborough thought it might help to have some new voices, you know, to just… give him something to listen to. I cleared it with her before I asked the guards, and since she thinks it's a good idea, we should try it. You never know."

Axel could imagine the kid sitting in the hospital room with no company other than the cops at the door, the nursing staff who came to fiddle with the medical equipment, and his brother, unconscious and unresponsive. The kid who looked like Ven, but the Ven he remembered didn't have those dark circles under his eyes, or the pale, taut skin of someone living under a mountain of stress and running on too-little sleep. And he knew Aerith through Demyx, and knew her well enough to guess that the suggestion for new companionship wasn't just for Ven's sake.

"Yeah… yeah," he repeated, a little more confidently. "Yeah, I'll come whenever, I tend to have Tuesdays and Thursdays off, but my schedule is kinda flexible so whenever would be fine." He paused, mentally reviewing his upcoming week for possible days he could go over. "When were you thinking?"

"Oh, well, uhm… I mean, it's Thursday today but visiting hours are over soon," Roxas said, and Axel wondered if the kid had actually thought that he wouldn't want to come by again, and hadn't planned on what would happen if Axel actually offered to visit. The voice on the other end of the line hemmed and hawed, filling space while the blonde apparently tried to figure out what to say.

"I mean, it doesn't have to be immediately if you have things planned, no big deal," Axel said, offering him an exit. "I could always try to pop in if I drop off Demyx for work, or if I'm picking him up."

"Oh!" this idea apparently shook something loose. "No, you need to come today, around 5 or so."

Axel paused, pondering this change of heart. He looked over to his desk where the sketches he _should_ have been working on were now in a tidy heap, and then he looked down at his clothes. Well, he had changed into something clean today, although there were smudges of ink and charcoal on his jeans. And he hadn't really planned on going out today, but...

"That's an oddly specific time," he responded instead, trying to feel his way through what the kid actually wanted.

"It's when Demyx's shift ends," Roxas explained. "And he said you'd promised to pick him up, and then he gave me his phone to call you while he finished up his rounds."

"Ah, _Barbie Girl_ ," Axel chuckled.

"...What?"

"When you rang, it was my ringtone for Dem, which is why I thought you were him at first. I'd completely forgotten that I was gonna pick him up, so thanks for reminding me."

"Oh, ok." There was another awkward pause, then Roxas continued. "So… I guess we'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, I'll be there." Axel reached under his bed to pull out his shoes. He looked at the clock on his phone, then down at his clothes again. They were sort-of clean. Or they had been, but that was before he'd fallen asleep in the middle of a charcoal drawing session. He swiped at a long sweep of black that only partially brushed off, then sighed. If it was just Demyx, he wouldn't have cared, but since he was actually going _into_ the hospital, and he might actually have to interact with people, the charcoal smudges all over his shirt probably wouldn't fly. "I might be a little late, gotta change. Just babysit Demyx til I get there."

He pulled up to the hospital only about ten minutes late, freshly dressed and more or less charcoal-free. As he made his way into the building, his phone buzzed. Looking down, he saw it was a text from an unknown number.

 _xx13 5:08 pm_ : Demyx fell asleep in the chair by Ven.

 _xx13 5:10 pm_ : He's not moving so I guess just come here to pick him up.

 _xx13 5:13 pm_ : I let Zexion know you're coming.

He paused, wondering if that meant that Roxas would not actually be there, and if this was some elaborate set up to get him arrested by the cops for trespassing. The kid had _sounded_ happy enough to have him come, but really, Demyx was the perfect bait to set a trap. Then again, Demyx was notorious for being able to fall asleep in under a minute in the weirdest positions and places, so the fact that he'd found a chair to wait in and not the storage closet (again) was something.

Pushing aside his paranoia, he took a minute to save the number to his phone. If he didn't get arrested and the kid was serious about having him come visit on a more regular basis, he may as well know how to contact him to set things up. He left the ringtone default, though- he wouldn't presume to know Ven's brother well enough to know what would suit him. Not yet, anyway.

He pocketed his phone as he made his way towards the room, nodding to familiar faces as he passed. As he turned the final corner, he braced himself for the mountain of muscle that was the cop who'd been doused in jello as part of Demyx's masterplan. However, a short, fresh-faced man sat in the chair today, long bangs covering part of his face. He was studiously typing away at a laptop, glancing up every so often but not really seeming to take anything in before going back to work. Axel approached slowly, wondering if he should hold up his hands to show he was unarmed.

"Uhh, I'm here to-"

"He's inside," came the short reply. The man didn't even look up, just kept typing, although he did nod his head in the direction of the door. Axel let out a breath. The man's lack of surprise or suspicion was a bit anti-climatic after his paranoia-filled walk down the corridor into what he was sure was actually a sting operation, but he wasn't going to give the man a chance to reconsider.

He pushed the door open, then hesitated, remembering how the kid had said something about 'keeping the door open.' He decided not to risk it; he took a deep breath and strode into the room, leaving the door ajar and hoping that was "open" enough. He found Demyx quickly enough, sprawled in the chair and completely out of it. At least is was a normal place to fall asleep, and he was more or less in a position that wouldn't leave him with aches in his joints when he woke up.

Shifting his gaze from Demyx to Ven, he saw that the sheets had been changed, and it looked like Ven was in a new set of hospital gowns. Blue again, but a brighter color, closer to the colors he wore back in school. That was more or less the only change, however. He still lay motionless on the bed, the machines still whirred, the drip bags dripped, life (such as it was) went on.

It took him a minute to spot Roxas at the desk, slouched over a notebook and tapping his pencil in time to the music Axel could hear bleeding out of the headphones. He headed over, tapping the kid on the shoulder and almost jumped out of his skin as a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. Roxas' eyes met his, wide and bright and blue and intently focused. After a moment, Roxas recognized him, flushed, and let go. He scrambled to take off the headphones and stood, skittering the chair back a good foot as he untangled himself from the wires.

"Sorry! I didn't hear you come in," he apologized, and tossed the headset onto his notes.

"I gathered that," replied Axel, shaking out his wrist and flexing his fingers. Kid had a strong grip for being as short and scrawny as he looked. He quirked an eyebrow as Roxas pushed the chair back in under the table. "You know, usually people keep an ear out when they know visitors are stopping in."

"Yeah, well," Roxas gestured over to Demyx. "He fell asleep mid-sentence, and since you said you were gonna be late I figured I could get more studying in." He sighed. "I don't normally have it up that loud, but he talks in his sleep."

Axel laughed, walking over to the chair. "Just be glad he didn't start sleepwalking. Dem gets up to the weirdest shit when he's asleep. I had to film it once just to prove it to him, and even after that he still argues that he sleeps like a rock." He nudged Demyx, who whined in his sleep and nestled further into the chair. "Dude, wake up. You can pass out wherever you want once we get back home."

Demyx muttered something under his breath along the lines of he was awake, thank you, and Axel waited to see if there was any movement to indicate there was, in fact, some consciousness behind that. After getting Demyx to hold up three fingers and tell him the name of his favorite band (it was the _Heartless_ ), Axel left him to sort himself out and walked over to Roxas, who'd apparently gone back to studying.

"So I'll have him out of here in a minute," he said, glad to see that the headphones were still on the desk. "Thanks for keeping him off of the floor."

"You're wel-what?" Roxas asked, putting down his pen and leaving his notes again. He gave Demyx a slight frown, Demyx who was not, in fact, getting up and getting ready to go like he'd promised he would.

"Working long hours means he's perfected the art of sleeping wherever, whenever. Let's just say it makes rooming with him a bit of an adventure. Demyx, _wake up!"_ he called over his shoulder, to which he got a slow wave and a groan that promised some movement. Axel turned back to Roxas. "Anyway, I'd be happy to drop you off if you need a ride or something, plenty of room in the car."

"Riding with strangers is not advisable," said a soft, clipped voice behind them. The officer from outside of the room stood just a few feet behind them, arms crossed, disapproving frown half-hidden by bangs over his face.

"Hiiiii Zeeeeeee," drawled Demyx, who, apparently, actually _was_ working on getting himself up to a standing position. He'd managed to sit upright in the chair and turned around to lay against the top of the chair, arms draped over the back of the lounger. "Zee" paid him no mind, keeping his attention focused on Axel. Axel shifted, straightening his posture a fraction as the man continued his intent appraisal.

"So, you are the one who sent the delivery." This was more of a statement than a question, though Axel decided a nod would probably be the best response. Zexion 'hmmed' for a moment before apparently deciding something- whether it was about Axel's character or his choice in pizza toppings, he wasn't going to ask. Zexion gave Axel a brief nod in response and then turned to Roxas.

"You may as well go home, I've got things covered here and you need to study. Leonhart will expect nothing less than your best tomorrow." Roxas didn't respond, looking back down at his notes. Zexion returned his gaze to Axel. He didn't say anything more, just gave Axel a look that said 'I know your deepest, darkest secrets and I will use them against you if necessary.' It was all Axel could do not to flinch as the officer made his way back into the hall.

Demyx was standing at this point, or rather, Demyx was leaning on Roxas, who was helping him stand and looking a bit out of sorts about it. Axel shook off the lingering chilly vibes from Zexion and walked over to duck under Demyx's arm and more or less heave Demyx to his feet. Roxas stepped back, now relieved of the sleepy Demyx, and frowned, looking back at his homework.

"So, uhm, I guess I'll call-"

"Nah. Pack up your stuff and I'll give you a lift home. We can coordinate on the way, Demyx won't mind." He hefted his roommate higher, eliciting a sleepy whine. "It's no trouble, honest. And I'm not a stranger- well, not entirely. Ven and I were peas in a pod, you know? Think of it as getting reacquainted with an old family friend."

Roxas looked back at Ven, his eyes narrowing a bit. He was clearly weighing his options, trying to decide if he was really going to get into the car with two strangers-well, probably one stranger and a sleeping acquaintance, depending on how well he knew Demyx.

Axel resisted the urge to sigh. Seriously, just because he had some ink and didn't polish up as nicely as some of the other hospital patrons didn't mean he was going to drag some hapless kid into the back of his car. Hell, it wasn't even his car, he just drove it for Demyx to run errands and carpool.

"I've just gotta dump Demyx on the floor of the apartment and then I can take you home, or to school, or your girlfriend's or whatever. Scouts honor, I've never been arrested or held under suspicion for kidnapping, assault, or anything like that," he said, shifting the ever increasingly-heavy Demyx on his shoulder.

"I know," Roxas said, walking over to the desk and packing up his things. "Just give me a minute to collect my stuff and say goodbye to Ven, and I'll meet you in the parking lot."

Axel grinned, giving him a thumbs up before calling out into the room. "I'll see you soon, Ven- we've got a lot to catch up on!"

He shook Demyx back awake and together they ambled down the hall, passing the creepy officer who said nothing, but deliberately kept eye contact with Axel until they'd rounded the corner back towards the lobby.

"Weirdo, reading my mind and shit," muttered Axel under his breath, which surprisingly got a response from Demyx.

"Intelligence," was the yawned explanation. "Reads everyone's files so that he has all of the details of what's going on. He kne-ew" - this was punctuated by another yawn - "who you were as soon as you walked into the room. Plus what I told him."

Axel stopped mid stride, throwing off Demyx's zombie gait. He turned to look back in the direction they'd come, ignoring the yelp of surprise Demyx gave as they stumbled to a stop. Suddenly that _I know'_ held a hell of a lot more meaning, and Axel wondered, not for the first time, if he'd walked into more than he'd bargained for when he snuck into Ven's room.

By the time Axel had managed to shove Demyx into the back seat of the car and make sure that he'd been buckled in and more or less as comfortable as possible, Roxas was already waiting at the curb, backpack slung over his shoulder. He seemed surprised to see Demyx sprawled in the back seat, but said nothing as he slid into the passenger seat. Axel handed him his phone as he pulled away from the curb.

"Ok, so one: I'm guessing you live near the campus, right? So I figured I'd swing by our apartment first since it's on the way, and then I can dump Demyx in his bed so I know he's safe and sound, then we'll head out and hopefully rush hour will be a little lighter. Two: I don't know what kind of music you like so if you wanna change it just use that app to find something, I honestly don't care what it is as long as it's not opera or overly classical shit." He made a quick turn out of the parking lot and swung into traffic, joining the bumper to bumper crowd. "And three: I don't know what that Zexion guy told you but I was 13 and it was an _accident."_

Roxas chuckled, flicking through the playlists on Axel's phone as he searched for background noise. He chose something that Axel would call in polite company 'hipster folk tunes', but the guitar was nice and the singer was tolerable, so he could live with it. Roxas placed the phone into the holder on the dashboard, then sat back, getting comfortable.

"I wasn't going to pry," he said, and Axel could hear the damn laugh in his voice, "but I was curious about how someone accidentally burns down a shed with a pair of old bike wheels and road flares."

" _I was 13_ ," repeated Axel. He sighed. "You know those wheels of fireworks you see in movies during like New Years festivals and stuff? The ones that spin around really fast and have like sparklers and whistlers whizzing out in all directions? I thought it would be cool to make one to celebrate. So I got an old bike, stripped it for parts, and attached flares to the spokes. I even rigged up a remote fuse so I wouldn't accidentally blow off any fingers or get burned."

"Why flares?" Roxas asked, a hint of interest in his voice. Axel laughed, giving him a quick look as he shifted lanes to move into faster traffic.

"Fireworks weren't legal, not even the ground based stuff. _Especially_ if you're underage and don't look old enough to pass for young adult. Road flares were… well, maybe they still weren't legal for a minor to buy, but they were easier to come by. It was a matter of creativity in the face of limited supplies."

"So… road flares didn't work?" Roxas asked, sounding genuinely amused. Axel grinned, remembering those few glorious minutes of pyrotechnik delight.

"They looked _awesome_ ," he said, then laughed again. "Til I found out the hard way that they apparently they created more lift than I'd anticipated and the whole thing just sort of whizzed into my neighbor's wooden shed. Lit up like a torch. It was pretty amazing to watch, that is, until my neighbor called the cops on me. Hell, I think I'd do it again, it was totally worth it and the neighbor was a grouchy old guy anyway. Didn't think it would ever be something I'd have to defend, though, cause, you know, I sort of thought my misdemeanor as a minor files were sealed."

Roxas coughed. "Zexion is very thorough at what he does," he said, sounding a bit apologetic but not enough to actually say sorry for bringing it up. Axel guessed he owed him that much, though. Maybe finding out that Axel's only real brush with the law was as a juvenile delinquent (and in an amazing blaze of glory to boot) made it a little less intimidating for Roxas to ride in the passenger seat. Or maybe he just liked snooping into people's past. Who knew.

They sat a few moments in silence, Axel concentrating on not flipping the bird and swearing at every asshole who cut him off in traffic, since, you know, company in the car and all that. Roxas was probably listening to his hipster songs playlist, this one was some dude singing in falsetto about the kings and tax collectors or something. Demyx's only input was a light snore from the back of the car.

"What were you celebrating?" asked Roxas out of the blue, and it threw Axel for a loop for a few minutes. He smiled, although it was a little more forced than before, giving Roxas a quick look before turning his attention back to the road.

"Ven's birthday."

By the time they'd made it through traffic and found a place to park the car, it was close to 6:30. It took them all of ten minutes to drag Demyx up the stairs, another three minutes to get him through the door. Axel gestured at the living room towards a large couch that was mostly clear of blankets, pillows, and other ephemera of two bachelors living a bohemian artists' life.

"It'll take me a minute to get him to his room, make yourself at home, I'll be out asap."

Roxas blinked, flushing a little as he asked, "So you two aren't, um…." He trailed off, interrupted by Axel's laughter.

"God no. I have to keep a lock on my door so he doesn't sleepwalk in and steal my blankets."

"I like to be comfy…." was the plaintive whine from Demyx, who was stumbling out of his shoes and shucking off his jacket. Axel sighed, catching the coat before it hit the floor to hang it up properly on one of the pegs by the door. He gave Demyx a gentle shove towards the back hall.

"Two minutes, just need to make sure he makes it to the bed," he promised before he disappeared after his roommate.

Roxas waited by the tank, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot and taking in the place. It was… well, artistic was a way to describe it. Shabby chic? Not clean. Definitely not clean, at least not to his standards. But then, he'd been living with Ven for years, and the academy had taught his brother to keep things tidy, a habit he'd taught Roxas, who was already a bit of a neat freak. There were few places as clean and orderly as their apartment.

Of course, even if it wasn't as clean and organized as he was used to, Roxas could see the appeal. There was art on the walls, and sheets of music on the table. An empty coffee mug held down a stack of what looked like sketches. Bookshelves filled with all manner of reading materials- apparently someone liked manga- and there were movies tucked in among the books, too. The rumpled blankets on the couch looked like they were just calling out for a tv binge. Of course, the tv itself was in a box which was a bit weird, but maybe it was some sort of artistic statement.

Axel popped back in at that moment, picking up his keys again and heading back towards the door. "Sorry about that. He's a great nurse, but he sort of has an automatic shut-off switch when he clocks off and more or less sucks at taking care of himself. I mean, I guess anyone would get a little loopy after a 32 hour shift."

Roxas shrugged, probably used to Demyx's odd habits after months of dealing with him. His attention was on more immediate mysteries. "What's with the tv box? Placeholder or something?"

Axel looked back at the box and laughed, shrugging into his coat. "Nah, I just bought it last week and I haven't bothered setting it up yet. I'll get around to it eventually."

"Oh…" replied Roxas, who was probably wondering who in the hell would buy a 48 inch tv and then just leave it in the box on the table in the living room. Not that Axel wasn't wondering the same thing if he was completely honest, but he'd been so thrown by last week's revelations that he'd sort of just walked in and asked for the best tv on sale and took what they showed him. And he would get around to setting it up at some point. Eventually.

Axel locked up and led the way down the stairs, back towards Demyx's car. As he slid into the driver's seat, Roxas took the passenger seat again, shucking his backpack into the back seat for more room, now that the back was Demyx-free. Axel pulled out his phone, intending to hand it over to Roxas and suggest he enter the location where he wanted to be dropped off, then paused. He paused, though, getting a glimpse of the kid in the yellowy street lights.

The hairstyle was a little different and he was older than the teenaged Ven he'd hung out with, but he recognized the slouch and solemn expression. But where Ven had been robust and clearly in good health, Roxas was pale and his gaze slightly listless. There was strength, yes, but the kid looked exhausted, like he spent too much time indoors and didn't bother keeping a regular schedule. Axel looked at him long enough that Roxas finally moved his attention from his phone to focus on Axel, a frown on his face.

"So, I know we don't really know each other all that well anymore but can I give you an honest opinion?" Axel asked, drumming his fingers against the wheel and giving Roxas another good, long look.

"Umm…" Roxas replied, clearly not keen on the idea, but Axel shook his head and turned his attention back to the road, sticking his keys back into the ignition.

"You look like you could really go for a beer," he said, talking over Roxas' non-committal response. "And I know just the place."

"I can't!" yelped Roxas, eyes wide. When Axel turned to raise an eyebrow, he flushed, looking away. Axel laughed.

"Relax, kid, I'm not offering anything more than a brew." He promised, not wanting the kid to start reconsidering his choices and do something stupid like jump out of a moving vehicle. He left the keys in the ignition but kept the car off, not wanting to start driving until he knew exactly where they were going- Luxord's, or if he was dropping the kid off somewhere else. He shrugged, trying to ease the kid's obvious and completely unwarranted panic. "You just look like you need a cold one."

"I'm not actually 21 yet," Roxas admitted. He gave Axel a sharp look. "And no, before you ask, I don't have a fake ID. I haven't done anything to risk my scholarship, and I don't usually have the time to go out and party anyway."

Axel laughed, and turned on the car. "I stand by what I said- you need a cold one," he laughed, pulling out of the spot and heading into traffic. "And, like I said, I know just the place."

"I can't believe you bought me ice cream," Roxas said, staring at the stick of dripping blue mess in front of him. Axel, already halfway through his own ice cream bar and mouth full of gooey goodness, simply gave him a thumbs up. Roxas shook his head, and took a tentative nibble. "Salty… but sweet. You can't even taste the coconut milk." He decided that it was good, though, and took a more confident bite.

Axel swallowed, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yeah, it's not one of those flavors that you'd think would taste good, but it just works, you know? I haven't had the coconut version before, but the almond milk one has a nice, subtle flavor to it, too." He slurped off the rest of his bar, swallowed, then pointed his stick at Roxas. "Eat up before it melts, then we'll chase it down with some food. There's a place right around the corner that serves up a mountain of fries on the cheap and they're amazing."

"Why do you keep trying to get me to eat?" Roxas asked, finishing up the rest of his popsicle. Axel frowned, tapping the stick against his lips for a few minutes before answering.

"I guess 'cause when I see you, I think about all those times Ven and I hung out back in the day, we always -inevitably- ended up getting something to eat. I mean, makes sense, teenagers are always hungry, right?" He shrugged, then stretched, rolling his shoulders to ease out the kinks in his muscles. "Besides, the pizza was different. That was apolopizza."

Roxas coughed, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Apolo-what?"

Axel raised his hands, gesturing to the world at large. "You know, apolopizza! When you piss someone off, you send them pizza as an apology."

"I… what?" Roxas asked again. Axel sighed.

"I snuck into the hospital room. You were upset-"

"Justifiably!"

"So, clearly I needed to apologize. And say thanks for not getting me or Demyx arrested. So," he mimed opening a pizza box and pulling out a slice. " _Apolopizza."_

"I…. are you always like this? I don't remember you being this weird," Roxas said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Axel stared at him.

"You've never sent food to someone as a way to say 'Sorry I fucked up?'" he asked. Roxas shook his head.

"Not pizza. Lactose intolerant."

"Wait, seriously? Shit. Did you have to chuck the whole thing then?" Roxas smiled a bit, shaking his head.

"No, but there was a bit of a stir when it arrived. Zexion said we shouldn't trust food that we didn't specifically order, and he decided he was going to hack the deli to find out who sent it. And I wasn't going to eat it because, you know, _cheese_ , and Laexus appeared while we were trying to figure out what to do so there were three of us standing there, trying to decide what to do next when Demyx walked by and asked if he could have a slice." Roxas shrugged.

"He said he knew you were going to send it round, which led to a round of questions about _why_ you were sending it. After Zexion thoroughly interrogated him- and chewed me out for letting you in without clearing it first- Zexion decided that if Demyx ate a piece and didn't immediately froth at the mouth, it was probably ok. Demyx ate about half of the pizza, and Zexion and Laexus had the rest. I ate some of the toppings and had a slice without cheese, so it worked out in the end."

Axel… wasn't sure what to make of that, so he switched gears, turning the conversation back to his original train of thought.

"Ok…." he drawled, then nodded down the sidewalk. "Well, anyway, it's basically dinnertime, and you look like you could stand for some more outside time before you call it a night and get back to your studying. And I dunno about you, but I _am_ kinda hungry because ice cream only goes so far, and like I said, the cafe has awesome fries. Besides, it's not like you can study _all_ the time."

Roxas sat a little straighter, frowning. "Why do you think I was gonna go home and study?"

Axel grinned. "What, you're telling me that's _not_ what you were planning to do?"

"Just because I'm still in school, it doesn't mean that all I do is study. I have friends and we go out and do fun stuff," Roxas huffed, although he turned away. "... but yeah. I have a midterm project deadline coming up and I need to work out some bugs before I turn it in."

"Bugs?" Axel asked, standing up and offering a hand to Roxas, who pointedly ignored his outstretched hand, standing up on his own. Axel shrugged, pointing down the street towards the the restaurant. "Right. Why don't you tell me about it on the way?"

"So when they died, the three of us moved to the mainland to live with my cousin's family for a few years to finish up school. Then Ven got the scholarship to come back to the academy, and I applied to the local school to stay with him. Xion stayed with Sora- he's our cousin, I don't remember if you ever met him but you'd remember him if you did- since she was doing an advanced study abroad degree thing and they don't really have anything like that over here. And since we got here I've been studying, and Ven was working in the forensics department at the Academy, handling computer stuff for active investigations and stuff. Then... there was the accident."

Roxas paused to take another bite of his burger, chewing slowly. Axel didn't mind the obvious tactic to buy more time. He'd been right, the kid did have a lot of shit going on in his life, and he'd definitely warmed up after eating- was almost chatty, even. Instead of pressing for more details, Axel chose to pop more fries into his mouth, dipping them in copious amounts of aioli sauce before shoveling them in. The tactic worked, as it always did. When Roxas swallowed, he'd apparently taken long enough to sure up his nerves again.

"Since then, well… stuff has been a mess. Xion came over when it first happened, but there's nothing anyone can really do and she couldn't skip school to sit with him, so she's back on the islands for a few more months until break, then she'll be back. I've got what's essentially medical leave at school, but since I'm only in a couple of senior project classes anyway, my professors cleared me for an extended deadline. The fencing scholarship funds were already through and I worked it out with the coach that as long as I go to practice I don't have to compete in any of the events."

Apparently that was everything, since Roxas more or less ground to a halt, staring at his half-eaten burger. Axel swallowed another handful of fries before he asked, "And they still don't have any more information?"

There was no need to ask what information they were looking for- the accident loomed as a constant shadow behind the kid, hanging at the end of every sentence, every tired look. Roxas seemed to shrink back into it, the light humor Axel had glimpsed earlier that afternoon fading away.

"It's ongoing. No leads. No sign of when he's going to wake up. If he's going to wake up." Roxas frowned into his plate, then looked up at Axel, eyes unreadable. "It used to bug me, you know? When people called me Repeat. Like, for the longest time, it made me feel like I wasn't able to do anything on my own, because Ven had already done it, and he'd done it better than I ever could. I was just doing the same thing over and over, following in his footsteps. I mean, I'm even getting the same degree, and I'll probably end up applying to the Academy too. I would never measure up to his standards, not matter how hard I tried."

He looked away, fidgeting with the straw wrapper. "Now everyone calls me Roxas, and it feels like they've already given up. Like he's already gone, and it's only me now."

"Good thing we bumped into each other, then," said Axel, forcing a grin. The kid could probably use a hug, but Axel remembered the strong grip on his wrist that afternoon and decided that additional physical contact probably was not in his best interest. Roxas didn't come off as a touchy-feely kind of guy. "Because if there's one thing I'm good at, it's annoying people. Ven will be sick of me in no time, and he'll wake up just to tell me to shut up and let him get some rest. You should try setting Demyx on him, too. We'll annoy him back into consciousness."

To prove his point, he stole a fry off of Roxas' plate. Roxas stared at him, expression a mixture of irritation and disbelief.

"That's not how it works," he said at last, pulling his plate out of Axel's reach as there was another attempt on his fries.

"I know," said Axel, managing to grab one anyway. "But it sounds like you need some variety in your life, kid, and if there's one thing I'm good at, it's surprising people. Keeps life interesting."

"I take it back," said Roxas, pulling his plate farther away from Axel's reach, although there was a bit of a smile in his voice. "I'm going to call Zexion and Laexus and let them know you're a terrible person who shouldn't be allowed into the room because you might set things on fire."

"Once, that was once," countered Axel, resigning the fight and dipping his own fries back into the sauce on his plate. He jabbed a dripping fry in Roxas' direction. "And if Ven was awake right now, he would agree that it was _awesome_."


	3. Chapter 3

"You've been keeping up with your studies?"

The question wasn't unexpected, nor was the practiced lunge that followed after the words. Roxas brought up his own sabre to knock the latter aside, then deflected the former with a question of his own.

"Have you ever known me _not_ to turn in something on time?" he asked, pushing through the parry with an attack of his own. Cloud easily turned it aside, pressing forward again, his sword flicking towards Roxas' unguarded side. Roxas grunted, catching the blade and carrying the weight of the lunge on a pivot, then sidestepped to avoid the follow-up attack. "I'll figure it out," he said, taking a step back to regroup. "I've just hit a bit of a snag, things seem to be stuck in a for loop when I try to execute a recall command."

"Hmm," was Cloud's noncommittal response, although he did take a step back. They stood poised, ready to strike, watching their opponent for any hint of movement or intent. Their breath came quickly- they had only worked up a light sweat in the hour or so of training, but the room was hot, and the air stale. Roxas swayed a little on his feet, trying to blink away the exhaustion of another long night debugging code.

"Aerith says a stranger's been seen multiple times in Ven's room," Cloud said, following it up with another swift thrust. Roxas, startled by the taunt, missed the blade and felt the hit on his stomach. He stepped back, thrown off guard, and raised a hand to the spot. Cloud frowned, lowered his blade, and held it to the side. "That's enough for today."

"Sorry, no, we can keep-"

"No, there's no point. Your thoughts are clearly elsewhere, and I can see that you haven't been taking care of yourself again." Cloud pulled off his mask, riffling fingers through his hair and getting them back to their usual spiky heights. "You've put in enough this time to satisfy the brass anyway. Go home. Sleep. Get some rest."

"Yes mom," muttered Roxas, pulling off his mask and knowing his own hair looked just as messy. He tucked the helmet under his arm and pulled off his gloves, not wanting to look the older man in the eye.

"Who is he?" Cloud asked, following him back to the locker rooms so they could change out of their gear. Roxas shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it in his locker and tucking his sword into its case before returning that inside as well.

"His name's Axel. He's an old school friend of Ven's, and he rooms with Demyx. I found him snooping in the room, called him out on it, and he sent me a pizza so I wouldn't get him arrested for trespassing." He snorted, then chucked his gloves in after his shoes. He gave Cloud a pointed look. "Dr. Gainsborough gave him the all clear to visit."

"I know him, tangentially," said Cloud, pulling off his own attire. He paused, apparently contemplating their previous encounters. Then he resumed dressing down, shrugging off his own jacket and shoes. "I don't know how confident I would be in Demyx's judge of character, but Aerith knows people. If she thinks it's a good idea, then it is." He said this with a slight smile, though it was half hidden as he reached into his locker to pull out a showering kit.

"I've only seen him a couple of times, mostly in passing," admitted Roxas. "And Zexion pulled his file and said he's more or less an upstanding citizen. The fact that he lives with Demyx and hasn't murdered him yet is probably a good indication that he is a patient and charitable sort of person."

"Mm," agreed Cloud, closing up his locker and hefting the showering kit to one hip. He patted Roxas on the shoulder as he passed, heading towards the showers. "I meant what I said. Go home, get some rest. I'm not going to fail you for ducking out of practice early."

"I promised Namine we'd hang out tonight," Roxas said, picking up his own towel and shower kit. "I'm meeting her after her seminar lets out and then we're getting dinner."

Cloud quirked an eyebrow, giving Roxas a slight smile. "You're going on a date?"

Roxas sighed, pushing past Cloud. "If by 'date' you mean 'meeting at a pre-arranged time to partake in food together,' then yes. She's my best friend, we're not dating."

"Aerith is my best friend," countered Cloud, walking behind him before turning off towards the shower he always used.

"It's so weird that you've been dating my brother's doctor," Roxas sighed, setting his things down in his own stall. He pulled off the rest of his clothes, set them in the changing area, then turned the taps full blast. A wave of cold water hit him, eliciting a yelp. He backed out of the spray, frantically spinning the hot water tap. "I mean, Radiant Gardens has, what, like, thousands of people. What are the odds?"

"When you're in the academy section of town, everybody knows everyone," replied Cloud over the hiss of his own shower. Apparently _his_ water came on hot immediately, or maybe he was just immune to the cold. "Do you want a ride over to the hospital? I'm meeting Aerith, and our meeting is definitely a date."

Roxas laughed, and ducked his head under the slowly warming water, rinsing off the sweat and dust from practice. When he came out for air, he felt cooler, more awake, but still tired. The thought of catching a ride with Cloud was tempting, but the hospital wasn't that far from the school's sports center, and he wasn't meeting Namine for a few hours yet. The walk would do him good, and he didn't think Ven would begrudge him the fresh air after two hours in a stifling gym. He'd still have time to visit and chat with Ven before Namine got out of her lecture.

He rinsed off the lingering suds, turned off the water, then stepped out of the shower, feeling slightly more refreshed. "Nah," he said over the patter of Cloud's shower. "I'll just walk and take the scenic route, it'll do me good. Gotta get some exercise in since we're clocking out early, right?" _Also_ , he thought to himself as he toweled off and got dressed, _you'll be in the shower and then primping for another 50 minutes at the very least_.

"Alright," Cloud agreed, but he popped his head out of the shower curtain to give Roxas a stern look. "But remember what I said. Sleep. Rest. If you don't, I'll have to chew out Leonhart for working you too hard, and then he'll be angry at both of us."

"Right, right," Roxas waved goodbye as he finished collecting his things. "I'll see you on Wednesday. Have fun on your date, and tell Dr. Gainsborough I said hi."

Maybe it was the fact that he'd just gotten out of what was essentially a cold shower, or that the school kept the sports center at an abnormally high temperature whenever it was below 70 degrees outside, but when Roxas headed off on his walk, he was glad that he'd opted to bring along a light jacket. The days were warm, but the nights still cool with that lingering memory of cool spring breezes. In a week or two he wouldn't have even bothered, since summer came fast and hard in the city, not like the temperate climate of the Destiny Islands or Mainland.

He tugged the zipper a little higher and hefted his bag higher on his shoulder, heading towards the hospital at a steady clip. He didn't really need to rush, not with an extra two hours to kill, but he could spend the extra time with Ven, tell him about the day and what he planned to do over the weekend. Maybe not the most exciting thing to talk about- there was only so much you could do to make writing and debugging a program sound exciting - but Ven, at least, would've know the logic and functions behind the thing Roxas was attempting to get to work, and he might've even had some suggestions on getting around some of the snarls in the code.

A sudden wind rolled down the street, stirring up trash and swirling it around his feet as he walked. There was a bite in the breeze, a reminder that they still had a few more weeks of spring to get through before they could officially call it summer, and he tugged the jacket on closer, bracing against the wind. When it finally died down he looked up, and out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed one of the signs swinging back and forth, caught up in the same breeze. If it had been any other day, he probably would have ignored it, but today, there was something nagging at the back of his mind when he caught sight of the store's logo.

For whatever reason, the strange little sign of the little shadow critter skulking above the doorway to the storefront looked vaguely familiar. He'd walked down this road a hundred times, so it was probably nothing more than that, but Roxas paused in his walk to contemplate the building and its peculiar little mascot in full.

It was one of those old row homes that had started off as a house, found a new life as a shop, and, based on the personal knick knacks in the upper story windows, had come to some happy medium between residential upper story apartments and main floor business property. The exterior was more or less maintained, but there was no indication in the front window of what the shop actually sold, and with the curtains drawn, there was no way to peek inside.

He turned his gaze back to the sign again, squinting at the naggingly familiar little figure. _Heartless, Heartless….where have I heard that recently?_ He turned the word over and over in his head, coming up blank. He shook his head, sighed, and stuck his hand in his jacket pockets, turning back in the direction towards the hospital.

That was when his fingers brushed against the cool, smooth surface of card stock. He pulled out the object and his eyes were immediately drawn to the little _Heartless_ mascot skulking across the shadowy paper. Surprised, he flipped the card over and saw Axel's name and contact information, complete with the offer of a free consultation for design work before the actual sitting.

Roxas squinted at the card, then looked up at the building again. So they were… what, a design studio? Given what he'd seen of Axel and Demyx's apartment, it was clear that one of them painted and drew. So maybe he did marketing or something, although the little Heartless mascot, while cute in its own special way, might be a bit offputting to some potential clients.

Should he pop in to say hello? Would it be weird for him to show up in the middle of the afternoon just to say ' _Hi, I was in the neighborhood and saw that you worked here so I thought I'd stick my head in_ '? What else would he even have to say, and would Axel be angry if he came in during the middle of the day? They weren't _friends_ , although Axel had followed up on his promise to visit Ven when he could, which raised Roxas' estimation of him considerably. At the heart of it, though, he was still Repeat, riding the coattails of his brother's friendship. But then, Axel had given him the card, told him to call whenever, so would that extend to actually visiting at work?

He pulled out his phone, flicking it awake to check the time. 3:30. As nice as it was to have the extra time, it meant his routine was off, and he wasn't sure what to do. Technically he should still be fencing with Cloud, and the studious part of him thought that he should spend the extra time working on his program- he hadn't been lying to Professor Strife when he said that he'd run into a coding snarl, and Professor Leon wouldn't be happy to hear that he'd more or less come to a complete stop with no clue (or interest) in how to continue.

Still… two hours meant that, at the very least, he could spend a few minutes to pop his head in to say hello- and Axel probably wouldn't mind. It wouldn't be long, but it might be a good time to stop by, just to say hello and thanks for visiting Ven, and then maybe-

His pocket buzzed.

He stared at the phone in his hand, the time updating to 3:31, and felt the vibration in his pocket on his thigh again. And suddenly, every trivial thought that had been flitting about in his head disappeared, his intent for a surprise visit completely forgotten. He looked up, briefly, then tugged his hoodie further down. He reached into his pocket, pressed "Accept Call", and started down the block at a rapid pace, listening as the other person began to speak.

The coffee had long since cooled in his hands and he'd barely touched it, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care. Roxas slumped in the chair, staring at the black liquid in his mug, but not really seeing it. He was more frustrated with himself than anything. It was stupid to get his hopes up, to think there might've been something different than what it always was, but he hadn't quite managed to crush out that brief bit of hope.

And for what? A few exchanged words, and then silence for another week, two weeks, three. The calls were never long, no more than five minutes, and really, what were they accomplishing? He always felt like crap when he hung up, and he knew the afternoon was shot for studying, because there was no way he'd be focusing on lines of code now. Professor Leon would be furious, and he'd blame Professor Strife because that was easier than blaming Roxas for falling down on the job, and then they'd both be grumpy and irritated with him for a week or two.

He sighed, using the little plastic straw to stir the coffee. But then, the alternative would be to stop getting these calls, and as much as they frustrated him, well…. He took a long pull at the cold coffee and scowled. In the background noise of the coffee shop, he could hear the door jangle as another patron swept into the room, and a familiar voice called out a greeting to the bouncy barista behind the bar.

"Hey Selphie, can you do up a batch of our usual? Three to go, bossman's only got, like, 15 minutes before his next appointment and you know how snippy he gets without his sugar bomb," said Axel, dropping exact change for his order onto the counter and a dollar into the tip jar. Roxas looked up, startled out of his funk, and he focused on Axel's back as Selphie rang him up.

"Roger roger!" she chirped, closing up the register and starting the orders. Axel chatted with her a bit as she started up the steamer, although their conversation was lost to Roxas over the noise of the espresso grinder and milk steamer. As Selphie skipped over to grab some more supplies, Axel turned around to lean against the counter, the picture of relaxed. That's when he caught sight of Roxas at his little table, and his eyebrows lifted in surprise, but there was a grin on his face as he sauntered over to sit in the vacant chair.

"What's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" he asked with a laugh. He nodded at the cup in Roxas' hands. "It's clearly not for the coffee, although I have it on good authority that it's much better hot."

"Aren't most things?" giggled Selphie, bringing over a coffee holder with three cups to go. She placed it down in front of him, then produced another takeaway cup from the counter. She swiftly swapped out Roxas' mug with the new to-go cup, and gave him a wink when he looked up, confused. "Free refill!" she explained, then skipped back to her place behind the bar.

"Th-thanks," stutterer Roxas, looking back down at the cup in his hands with confusion. Axel stood, picking up his order.

"You heading out?" he asked, nodding to Roxas' cup. Roxas shrugged, looking over at Selphie, who gave him another thumbs up and a shooing motion, a grin from ear to ear.

"I guess I am," he said, standing up as well. "I should probably get over to the hospital soon anyway. I meant to be there 30 minutes ago."

He held the door for Axel, who juggled the coffee holder long enough to throw Selphie a salute (which she returned with the click of her heels.) Roxas followed after, shivering in the cold again. Axel took a swift step to the other side of him, effectively cutting off the cold breeze.

"So, you playing hooky today?" Axel asked, shortening his stride to match pace with Roxas. "Miss the school bus or something? Serve detention?"

"Ha ha," Roxas deadpanned, taking a sip of his coffee at last. Axel had been right, it was much better hot. "I wanted to stretch my legs and walk to the hospital, but I had to take a call and didn't want to stand around in the cold so I ducked in and got coffee. I hadn't realized you worked so close by."

Axel shrugged, popping out one of the drinks and taking a sip. "Yeah, it's not a bad spot, and the shop's decent enough size for the three of us. Plus it means if we need the car for whatever reason I can park it over there and use Dem's hospital parking pass for free. Parking in this part of town is kinda a bitch, too many damn yuccie shops- ours included."

"Yuccie?"

"Eh, think entitled hipsters with a flair for yuppie consumerism," Axel replied. He stuck the cup back into the holder, then looked at his watch, then back at Roxas.

"How quick can you drink that down?" he asked, turning down the street towards the _Heartless_ studio or shop or whatever it was.

"I mean, the coffee really is good, but it's too hot for me to finish drinking it before we reach the shop," Roxas replied, a bit confused at the sudden change of subject. Axel shook his head and stopped by the front door of the building.

"Lemme drop these off, then I can give you a quick lift over to the hospital," Axel said, pushing the door open and nodding Roxas inside. "It'll be a five minute ride as opposed to a 20 minute walk, and you already look like you're half-frozen. We can figure out how to take the coffee with us."

"You don't have to-"

"No big deal," Axel interrupted, nudging him through the door and kicking it closed behind them. "I've still got time before I need to start, and it's better than just sitting in the kitchen, staring at the ceiling fan."

Roxas frowned, although he gratefully soaked in the heat of what was once a grand entry hall, and now apparently a reception area. "Didn't you say you have an appointment?" he asked, taking another sip of the coffee.

"Bossman has an appointment," Axel corrected, waving that objection aside. "Being the awesome employee that I am, I came in extra early to get coffee orders before clocking in." He set down the coffee holder and extracted one of the cups, then made his way around the receptionist's stand. He knocked on the closed door before cracking it open and setting the cup down inside with a quick "Coffee delivery!" before closing the door again. " _Bossman,"_ he mouthed to Roxas as he headed back to the front desk.

He picked up another of the cups and walked through to the old parlor area, moving one of the rolling office chairs out of the way as he wended his way over to a small desk in the corner. "Anyway," he continued as he set the coffee cup down and moved papers out of the way, "I'm working extra hours tomorrow, so he won't care if I clock in a few minutes late today. Oh! Yeah, that reminds me, I might not be able to spend as much time over there tomorrow, but I'll still be there."

"Oh! Ok," replied Roxas, who hadn't known that Axel intended to keep showing up on his days off. As he pondered why that cheered him up, he took in the scene with its various chairs of different heights, reclining angles, and- was that a medical bed in the corner? There were random paintings and artwork cluttering the walls, too- some of those, at least, he recognized. The style was similar to the works he'd glimpsed in their apartment, which could only mean-

"You're a tattoo artist!" he exclaimed, wondering why it had taken him this long to put two and two together. Granted, he hadn't really had very long conversations with Axel, not since they'd gone to dinner that one time, and even then, Axel had been more interested in learning about what Ven had been up to than talking about himself. Still. The tattoos he'd glimpsed under Axel's sleeves and the artwork hanging around the apartment might've given him a clue earlier on if he'd been paying proper attention.

Axel turned from his desk, making his way back towards the entry hall, but another high-pitched voice interrupted him before he could respond.

"My god, Axel, he's like, twelve. Please tell me you got proper ID before you set the appointment." A fierce looking blonde woman had materialized behind the receptionist counter while Roxas had been watching Axel, and her sharp voice cut through the air. She glared at Axel over her coffee cup, taking a long drag at whatever her 'usual' was. Axel sighed.

"Chill, Larx, we're just doing a coffee drop. I'm gonna drive him over to RG real quick before Wedge comes-I'll be back in no time, and it's not like Marley needs me to start his prep work. I'll be there when they're ready to start." Axel came back into the entrance hall, gesturing to Roxas.

"This is the kid I've been telling you about, Ven's little brother, Roxas." He gestured to the woman. "Roxas, this is Larxene. Best not to piss her off," he advised. He paused a beat. "Also don't let her get too close to you when she's got a piercing gun in her hands and she's feeling vindictive. She's too good at what she does, you know? You won't even feel it and then BAM! You've got a ring through your nose and four gauges in your ear."

"Why Axel, that was almost a compliment! How flattering," Larxene sneered, but her attention was focused on Roxas, who squirmed under her sharp gaze.

"I'm almost 21," was the only defense he could come up with. For whatever reason, though, this amused her. She threw back her head and cackled- an honest to god laugh that would land her any evil stepmother or wicked witch role she auditioned for. Roxas decided that it would be better not to suggest this to her, and bit his tongue.

" _Anyway_ ," said Axel, herding Roxas back out the door, "Like I said, taking him to the hospital, and I'll be back in plenty of time for Marley's session. Please don't scare away any customers before I have a chance to charm them back."

"Oh, you're no fun," she huffed, but she leaned against the desk and gave Roxas a smile. "I'll be seeing you later, short stack."

"Uh… I guess," Roxas replied, although he wasn't quite sure if that was a promise or a threat. She watched them as they exited the building, fingers drumming against the cup and her gaze intent. When they stepped outside again and she could no longer watch them, he shivered. "She's kind of… intense."

"Nah, don't sweat it. She's mostly bark, very little bite," Axel replied, leading him down the narrow alley that led to the driveways at the back of the buildings. He walked over to the small shed leaning against the house, spun the combination lock on the door, then popped it open. "Here, catch."

Roxas raised his hand in time to block a helmet tossed in his general direction.

"Coffee!" he yelped, even as the helmet bounced away from him. Axel emerged from the shed wheeling a bright red motorcycle, putting down the kickstand so he could put on his own helmet.

"Sorry about that," he said, sounding not in the least sorry. "You're a college student, so you should be good at chugging stuff, right?"

"For the last time, I don't party," Roxas insisted, although he made a valiant effort to suck down as much of the drink as possible. He got about half of it down before he broke for air, then took several more gulps to get the rest of it down.

"Well, as exciting as your life sounds, I can guarantee you that it pales in comparison to what you're about to experience."

For the second time in the span of five minutes, Roxas wasn't sure if that was meant to be a joke or a threat. When it all came down to it, though, Axel wasn't a _terrible_ driver.

For all his posturing, Axel obeyed the speed limit, didn't weave in and out of local traffic, didn't attempt any wheelies, and they did, in fact, get to the hospital in far less time than it would've taken Roxas to walk the remaining few miles. Axel dropped him off by the entrance, idling as Roxas released his death grip on Axel's jacket and removed the helmet. As Roxas wiggled off the seat from behind Axel, the red-head spoke up.

"You should come to Demyx's gig this month," he said over the purr of the engine. He said it with such conviction that for a moment, Roxas wondered if Axel had been talking to him about it during the drive and he just hadn't heard it over the engine noise. Axel continued, oblivious to Roxas' confusion.

"His band plays at a local bar close to here, and it's 18 plus so as long as you're there with a responsible adult," - he wiggled his eyebrows - "you can get in. If you have friends who might wanna come, bring them, too. He always plays better when he has a bigger audience."

"Uh, yeah, maybe, I have to see how homework goes-"

"AGAIN with the homework!"

"But I should be able to make it, sure," replied Roxas, ignoring the interruption. "I mean, that could be kinda cool. Maybe. I'll ask Demyx more about it when I see him." He paused. "What kind of music does he play?"

"It's Demyx," was the simple reply. "I don't know how to better explain it."

Roxas laughed, hefting his bag further up on his shoulder. "I guess I'll bring some earplugs too, then. Just in case."

"Probably a good call anyway," Axel replied, shifting on the bike. "So… I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the hospital after my shift?"

"Yeah, that works!" agreed Roxas.

"It's a date then!" laughed Axel, who saluted and then started the bike back up to return to work.

Roxas stood a moment longer watching after the retreating motorcycle, despite the chill. Why did everyone assume that as soon as you scheduled to hang out it was an automatic 'date'? He'd have to get Namine's opinion on it, she was the one with the psychology degree and was always good at figuring this sort of stuff out.

He frowned, realizing that he'd agreed to meet Axel twice- both tomorrow, and the following Friday. Was it weird to be hanging out with his older brother's childhood friend? It almost seemed like he was cheating on Ven by stealing his friend. Or was Axel using him to relive the good old days, with Roxas being just the visual cue he needed? What the heck was up with that guy anyway?

Another gust of wind broke his musings, and he hurried inside to get out of the cold. If he was a good student, he'd go in and get started on his coding so he'd have something even _sort of_ functional to run by Professor Leon tomorrow. If he was a good student, he'd find an excuse to bow out the upcoming concert and spend the entire weekend shut in, figuring out what show-stopper project he was going to do for his senior thesis in the remaining three months that he had to finish the work. A good student would ignore outside distractions like phone calls, coffee breaks, and concerts.

He was a good student. Normally. But even good students have their limit, and he'd been awfully rule-abiding the last few weeks. A few days of lax scheduling wouldn't put him too far behind, right? He sighed again. He _definitely_ had to talk to Namine about things.

"So wait, he's already taken you back to his place and you've been to his room?" asked Namine. She started at him across the table, fork frozen halfway to her mouth. She caught herself, lowered the food back to the plate, and frowned as Roxas felt the blood rush to his face.

" _Not like that_ ," Roxas sighed, rubbing his temples. "I helped him get Demyx upstairs into their apartment, and I stood in the living room while he made sure Demyx made it into bed."

"And then you went into his room?"

" _No!"_ he shouted, then winced at the volume and lowered his voice. "No," he repeated more calmly, "I stood in the living room, and then we went out for ice cream and dinner. There was no bedroom. Well, I mean, he has one I'm sure, but I didn't go in it, I didn't ask to see it, and why do you keep coming back to this?"

"Hmm," was all she said, taking another bite of food and avoiding the need to elaborate. He knew that 'hmm' though.

"It's not like that," he argued, "we just talked. Mostly about Ven. He wanted to know how long we'd been back. I think he was upset when he found out we've been here a while and Ven didn't bother trying to track him down again. I dunno. Is that weird? Do you think it's weird? I'm so damn tired I don't think I can parse reality all that well anymore."

"I don't think it's weird, no." Namine sipped her tea, then tapped her chin. "Do you want my honest opinion?" He nodded, and he could see the smile trying to escape. "It sounds like he's trying to be friendly, and maybe he's a little more outgoing than the people you're used to, and maybe it's because you've been dealing with so many uncertainties for the last few months that everything new seems like a threat." She grinned, "And maybe you're just a little over-reactive and paranoid, but that's what makes you so loveable" she teased.

"So you don't think it's weird that he wants to hang out with me?" he asked. "You don't think this is some ploy he's using to try fill the Ven-shaped void under some weird pretense of friendship?"

She tilted her head, and he was glad to see that she was giving it some honest thought and not just laughing him off outright. In the end she shrugged, steepling her fingers together. She rested her chin on them, smiling as she looked at him.

"I can see how you come to that conclusion," she said at last, "but in all honesty, it doesn't sound like that's the case to me. I mean, think about how Sora would act if he met up again with an old friend."

Roxas laughed, relaxing into the booth. "He'd drive them up the walls and smother them with affection." He shrugged, poking at the food on his plate a bit more. "I mean, he's not quite as bad as that, I guess I'm just not used to dealing with people who are so….I dunno. Friendly?"

She laughed, picking up her fork again. "So you're bringing me to the show to meet him, right? I mean, I know Demyx well enough so I don't think he'd mind, and I'd like to meet this Axel so I can give you a more informed opinion on whether or not he's actually trying to stalk you."

"You don't mind?" Roxas asked, feeling some relief at knowing that he would have an ally with him on unfamiliar territory around unknown people. She smiled, patting his hand before turning back to her food.

"Of course I don't mind," she laughed. "I'm nosy, I wanna meet this guy."

They spent the rest of the dinner sharing school-related grievances, Roxas with his non-functioning project that was supposed to be more or less finished by the end of the week. He had to admit, though, it sounded like Namine's past few classes had been far more tedious.

"...And when I came back into the room with the towels, they'd managed to get the rest of the paints halfway out the window," she laughed. "It takes a special kind of person to deal with kids under the age of ten, and I'm so glad I'm done the unit next week so I can go back to working with seniors."

"Did you have to clean it up?" Roxas asked, taking a sip from his water and trying to imagine Namine halfway up the school building, scrubbing away at a cascade of paint while a rowdy bunch of kids screamed and caused even more chaos below.

"Fortunately, no. Apparently this wasn't the first time they'd done something like this, so the school has this massive power-washer. It took them nearly an hour to-"

Roxas' phone interrupted Namine, startling them both. He frowned and pulled it out of his pocket, wondering who would be calling him this late in the evening. He checked the number and paled, hastily accepting the call.

"What's happened?" he asked, voice tight. Namine reached across the table and grabbed his free hand in both of hers, gripping it as he listened to the other end of the phone. He swallowed as the voice on the other end of line spoke, giving Namine's hand a quick squeeze. "So it's not…? Ok. Ok, good. Yeah, we'll be right there."

"I don't want you to get your hopes too high," Dr. Gainsborough said, gently holding his hand as he sat in the chair, eyes wide. "It's early, yet- yes, I know how long it's been, you've been incredibly strong these past few months and I know it's been difficult. But signs suggest that his brain activity is increasing, which is a good sign, recovery-wise. Fluttering eyelids, moving his fingers- these are all really positive signs. We still have a long road ahead of us," she warned, "but I thought you'd want to know the good news as soon as possible."

"So you think he's gonna be ok?" he asked, voice small. Namine squeezed his shoulders, giving him her silent support. Doctor Gainsborough hesitated, a small frown on her face.

"Roxas, in cases like this nothing is ever certain," she said gently, and he could hear the 'but' implied there. "You also have to remember that 'Ok' is a relative term. He might wake up, but we don't know how extensive the damage may be. People have recovered from worse, it's true, but everyone heals at their own pace. It could be months, it could be years. And some damage cannot be healed all the way." She smiled, squeezing his hands again.

"But he's scored high on the last few response tests over the last couple of days, and tonight he did really well. You know that we're going to do everything we can to make him as comfortable as possible and help him every step of the way. I know it's been difficult for you, but you've helped him so much already. I'm so proud of you, and I know he is too."

Roxas sniffed, bringing a sleeve up to scrub across his eyes as Aerith pulled him in for a hug. She patted him on the back, waiting til he'd calmed a bit, then stood, smiling down at him and Namine.

"I've told the staff you'd probably want to sit in with him for a bit longer, but don't make it too late, ok? You need to get your rest, too."

"R-right," he said, getting up to follow her to the door. "Thank you. For everything."

She patted his shoulder again, gave him another smile, then stepped outside. Cloud had been deep in conversation with Zexion, and they both looked up as Aerith walked out. She gave them both a brilliant smile as she linked arms with Cloud, then turned to give everyone a final wave before guiding Cloud down the hallway, presumably off to finish their interrupted date. Zexion gave Roxas a small, rare smile before turning his attention back to his computer, and Namine waited in the hall, giving him time to go in and talk to Ven alone. Roxas headed into the room again, closing the door with a gentle click.

Ven didn't look like he'd moved at all, but there'd been signs, medical signs, responses to stimulus, _proof_ after almost four months of anxious waiting that he might finally be waking up. Maybe in a few hours, a few days, whatever, but his brother would be waking up. He would get to see Ven again, talk to him, hear his brother's voice, see him open his eyes. Roxas gripped Ven's hand, sitting beside him on the bed and leaning over to straighten the bangs that had fallen into his face.

"So you heard what the doctor said. You've gotta rest up and save your strength, because while you've been napping, there's been a lot of stuff going on, and I've gotta get you caught up to speed. I mean, we'll take it slow so you don't get too tired, but I know you're gonna wanna hear everything," he promised, then rubbed away more tears as they threatened to spill.

They were almost a welcome relief. After those first few initial weeks of stress and fear and worry, he'd worn himself out to the point where he couldn't anymore. It'd been months since he'd cried. Namine had said something about his brain going into a state of emotional numbness to try to lessen the pain, but he'd thought it was more likely that he was just too damn sad and tired to shed any more tears.

But he also remembered someone asking him at some point how he'd stayed so calm and strong through all the weeks of fear and worry, and he could only shrug and say that Ven had shown him how. He gripped his brother's hand, thinking back to the night their parents had died.

 _Ven, barely eighteen, had been on his own at home when the news broadcast started. He'd been unable to contact Roxas or Xion, not knowing exactly where they were, or when they'd come home. If they'd come home. Ven, alone in the house, watching the news as footage of the attack played over and over, an attack in the area where their parents had been celebrating their wedding anniversary._

 _Roxas and Xion had come home from a friend's house after the movie finished, unaware of the chaos unfolding twenty miles from home. They'd found Ven in the middle of a panic attack, shouting at the automated voice of an answering machine telling him that the number he was trying to reach was unavailable._

 _When he saw them, he'd shouted at them for worrying him, not telling him where they were going to be before going out. It was the first time the twins had ever really seen Ven angry- more scared and worried than anything, really, since the attack had closed down sections of the city and snarled communication lines._

 _It'd taken them almost 20 minutes to help him calm down enough to learn what had happened, and another 20 minutes for him to admit that he was worried that he'd lost all of them in one terrible night, and that he'd be alone._

 _Not that the police had called them that night. They'd huddled on the couch, shivering under blankets as they watched footage of the downtown area in flames, knowing that their parents had been there, unable to reach either one on their cellphones, hoping for the best, knowing the worst was yet to come._

 _The surreal, vivid memory of the officers coming to their door early the next morning, asking if they could come in. The argument afterwards, Ven threatening the officers when they suggested Child Services take in the twins who were only 13 at the time, just for a few days until a family member could come take them into custody._

 _The officers had agreed to leave them in his care as a temporary measure, and Ven holding them close, promising that they would never be alone, that he would watch out for them, take care of them, no matter what._

 _Had Ven had any idea of what he was getting into when he enlisted in the forces after graduating? Had he any inkling of the dangers he would face, the job that would send him jumping out of a moving car before it crashed into the warehouse, triggering the accident that would change his life forever? The irony that his promise to keep them safe had led him down a path towards yet another explosion that had almost taken him from them? And that this time, it was Roxas holding his hand, promising that he wouldn't be alone?_

Ven lay silent, the quiet beeping filling the space between them. Roxas sniffed again, wiping away the tears that had fallen as he thought back on how far they'd come, and how far they had to go. It'd seemed so hopeless, but now….

"I've gotta tell Xion," he said, pulling out his phone and pulling up her name to call. He stopped before he touched the button to dial her, though. It was almost two in the morning on the Islands, and as much as he knew she'd want to hear, it could wait until morning. He pulled up the messenger instead, and told her to give him a call as soon as she could.

He paused before putting his phone away. He'd be seeing him tomorrow, but Axel would probably want to know, too. Demyx wasn't on duty tonight, so he wouldn't hear until he came in later in the day. He could text them both- he'd promised to keep them updated with news, hadn't he?

He pulled up his contacts for both of them and sent a quick message:

 _xx13 10:08 pm_ : Dr.G says tests suggest good news, V is improving- keep your fingers crossed for the best.

He laughed, trying to imagine Ven's reaction when he found out how Axel had ninjaed his way into the locked ward. Knowing his brother, he'd probably threaten a citation, or at least a fine for trespassing.

There was one last person he needed to text, too. He took out his other phone, and sent them a "Call me as soon as you can" message, then slipped both phones back into his pockets. He turned his attention back to Ven.

"I can't wait to tell you… everything. I've missed you so much. Just… wake up as soon as you can, ok? I'm gonna be right here."


End file.
